Twice this week I have read the phrase, "refresh the irritation." When I read it last night on Pip's blog, my second encounter............the phrase stuck. It stayed with me like a pebble in my flip flops, like a scratchy throat whenever I swallow........like a persistant pressure of my finger pushing on my temple, it's muscles moving other thoughts out of the way. The phrase was irritating me! How ironic.
So..........here's to unravelling the mystery
A drip, drip, drip of a tap in the silence of the night
denting the porcelain
leaving an ugly iron stain
waste of resources
drip
drip
drip
drip
What does it mean?
denting the porcelain
leaving an ugly iron stain
waste of resources
drip
drip
drip
drip
What does it mean?
Why should I refresh an irritation?
Wouldn't that just bring forth discomfort?
Won't it go away if I just ignore it?
A drip, drip drip of quiet lonely tears unshared, unexpressed to anyone else
filling the messy cracks temporarily
smearing mascara in rivulets
empty puffy sore eyes
drip
drip
drip
drip
slow burn, inner storm brewing, agitated, frustrated, disconcerted, deny, deny, suppress, repress, swallow..............scratch............drip, drip, drip........turn away from the pest.
Refresh the irritation.
Use it as food for inspiration
Reveal it's reason for provocation
Wonder about it's festering aggravation
Surrender to your exasperation
Use discomfort and agitation
For personal growth and motivation
Our lives are messy. Our crisscrossing journeys are messy. I don't think God would want it any other way. Do you think maybe God throws us irritating curveballs just to ensure we're paying attention? Maybe he's asking us to turn our irritations into action.............into pearls of wisdom.
drip
drip
drip
drip...
5 comments:
I don't like that expression, but you've created an intriguing post around it!
It may not be the most comfortable phrase but it just doesn't leave me - if we don't keep refreshing whats wrong, we stay with situations that aren't right. The alternative, hoping it goes away, is avoidance - it's way too easy to be complacent - I like the idea of pearls at the end though :)
If only more people saw it in your sense, as pearls of wisdom, we would have the opportunity to refresh the irritation without it seeming like a walk through a blizzard without our wellies. In most cases (and I am guilty of this myself), we avoid situations and irritations because of the simple fact that we do not want to irritate it more... making a bigger beast of the monster it can become.
Not to say this is a good or bad thing... only that we need time and a steady head to know which battles to choose to fight before it escalates into something well beyond it's original intention.
Being an OCD sufferer, denting the porcelain has to be carefully thought out before I reach for the hammer.
Tara........it's an expression that makes me uncomfortable too....the opposite of "let sleeping dogs lie." there are some issues that we should leave well enough alone or at least know that the issue may just be the tip of the iceberg.....and to be prepared for the consequences.
sometimes we need to just let things slide and move on..... and then others?
I was also thinking while thinking about this phrase.......that most times we are in control of "refreshing" what irritates.....most times in my life, what annoys me has been triggered by someone or something in my life and I respond defensively without even thinking until later when I'm trying to figure out why I had such a emotionally reactive response to what seemed to be something minor. If I want.......it leads to me asking......"what the heck was that all about.......and then hopefully (if I have the guts to do it, I'll take the time to think it through and at least make an attempt to deal with it ......OR make ammends :) )
Yeah........don't know if I like the expression either, but it sure left me with many thoughts.
Hi Katie.......who got me going down this road in the first place :) Your points are well taken.... by reflecting on what's right and what's wrong.......it pushes us towards making a choice.
I read somewhere that an oyster is "irritated" by any grains that enter it's domain......they "cope" with the grains etc by making a pearl out of it....... hence, pearls of wisdom is what I meant....
Hi Ellen.......I seem to always be looking for my wellies while the storm is pending.....many times I don't find them in time either. You're right........the beast does become a bigger monster. The pic I found to accompany the piece made me think of that.......
Your OCD? Does it manifest through not being able to tune out repetitive noise?
I like how you break down the phrase, turn it around, look at it from all sides and try to make sense of something that at first, feels senseless.
Perhaps irritation is the catalyst for action. Wonderful poem, JP
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